Warrior spirit
I always have a hard time reading Nev Sagiba’s post very challenging because he presents so many ideas, but there is always at least one idea that catches my attention. In his recent post that idea is:
> Two men in a ring with rules, whilst athletic, skilled and courageous, prove nothing more than that their minds are trapped by rules. On the other hand, those having killed, the ultimate of true violence, unless mentally ill, seldom feel good about it. And if not behind bars, are usually tormented souls. Or both. > A true warrior understands clearly that SERVICE TO LIFE means that he may be sacrificed for the success of the campaign at hand; and lives is hope that he is indeed serving the greater good. HAVE NO ILLUSIONS ABOUT THAT! Otherwise he wastes his life as well.
Except for the unnecessary use of upper case, I wished I said that. It is so easy to get caught up in a fantasy of using martial techniques to effortlessly defeat an assailant who clearly deserves whatever injuries befall him (you know he deserves it because of the music that started playing as he entered the scene).
As part of the service at UUCA this past Sunday, a video interview was played with a witness to civil rights era. The predecessor congregation had joint youth meetings with Ebenezer Baptist and they were threatened by the KKK. The fathers walked the perimeter to protect the youth inside. No violence took place, but in the early 1960′s in Atlanta, there was a reasonable expectation that something bad could happen to an racially integrated meeting. Walking the perimeter when violence is imminent is what warriors do. If violence occurred, these fathers would be the first to be hurt and they knew it. They would have died trying to stop their children from being hurt and there was no illusions about their chances against a determined attack. What they counted on was the cowardice of the potential attackers, and based on the number of cars that slowly passed the building the night they were right. What we must prepare for in martial training is the ability to enter (irimi) violent circumstances without regard for the outcome. Of course we want to survive and come out on top, but we must be prepared for death.
Tags: Aikido